How do poor people survive? How is survival sustained in complex political and environmental situations? To help frame and answer key questions facing researchers in the south, the Sustainable Livelihood Framework (SLF), an analytical tool, has been devised. Using SLF, researchers attempt to establish how people with different livelihood strategies are surviving in the present and can survive in the long term. How useful is SLF in practice, however? A study by the Institute of Development Studies examines the experience of implementing SLF for policy research in Mali. Focusing on the range of factors influencing sustainable livelihoods and the strengths and weaknesses of SLF, the report reflects on the relationship between research and policy.